Safety attachment for street-cars



v improved safety device.

UNITED STATES ATnNT einen.

HENRY A. HOVVE, OF ALBION, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND JOSEPH NOR- VOOD, OFBROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR STREET-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,588, dated February27, 1894.

Applicationled August 26, 1893. Serial No. 484.089. (No model.)

T a/Z whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. Howe, a citizen of the United States,residing at Albion, in the county of Orleans and State ofl New York,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Attachments forStreet- Cars, of which the following is aspeciiication.

Street cars operated by electricity or cables have heretofore been thecause of many serious accidents both of 'life and limb, and with a viewof overcoming this danger, safety attachments have been hinged to thelower edges of the platforms and adapted when not in use to fold overagainst t'ne dash board and their outerf ree edge was supported when iuuse by rollers running upon the pavement. These rollers areobjectionable because in running around a curve they are liable t0 bebroken o by the sidewise movement or to cause the safety device to bebent or injured.

My improvements relate to a safety device that is pivoted to the carplatform and supported by the pivot bolts and bears against yieldingdevices adjacent to said pivots which permit the safety device to becarried in air above the track and without the use of rollers. Theseyielding devices lessen the jar received by a person in falling upon thesafety device and I also provide a yielding edge to the safety device tolessen the force of the blow or concussion between the object struck andto the safety device.

I prefer to construct my safety device as an integral suspendedplatform.

In the drawings Figure l is a plan of my Fig. 2 is a side elevation andpartial section. Fig. 3 shows a modification iu the pivotal fastening ofthe safety device to the car platform. Fig. 4 shows by a cross section amodified construction of the edge or rim of the safety device, and Fig.5 is a cross section at the line w :r of Fig. 1.

A. represents part of the car platform, B the end sill and c c bracketswith T ends connected therewith,

The safety device consists of a metal frame composed of the bar ct andthe downwardly bent and rounded bar b riveted to the ends of the bar c,and forming the curved front edge of the frame. The bar h as shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 3, is of L angle iron,butatube h2 as shown in Fig. i isequally available.

A lattice work c2 is fitted within the frame of bars, a, b, and isAsecured thereto at .its edges in any desired manner. This lattice workmay be of any suitable materialsuch as wire or rope, netting or canvasor rubber fabric secured around the edge is available instead of themetal lattice work. The notched face of the L. angle iron bar ZJ isplaced outward and receives an l. shaped strip of rubber d which is madewith rounded edges and is secured to the bar b by bolts 2 at intervals.The edges of this rubber strip extend beyond the respective edges of themetal bar h so as to prevent a person struck by or falling upon thesafety device coming against the metal edge and also to lessen the shockor concussion and prevent a person from slipping olf. Upon the back ofthe bar c are secured auxiliary brackets e e', that are perforated andthe outer ends of the brackets c c are also perforated and bolts 5passing through the perforations connect the safety device pivotally tothe brackets. The auxiliary brackets e e' have horizontal flangessecured by rivets to the plate d, and outer faces that standperpendicular toward the car platform.

The brackets c c are each provided with sockets formed by the backplates 6, bottom plates 7 and side plates 8. Each side plate S isinclined in relation to the bracket plate so as to produce a taperingopening or socket in the bracket. Two buffer blocks of rubber ff oftrapezoidal cross section are received into said sockets and theirmeeting ends at 10, are inclined, and bearing against their outer orexposed faces are the vertical faces of the auxiliary brackets e e andthe safety device as supported by the pivot bolts 5 rests against therubber buffer blocks ff', and thereby the safety device is yieldinglycarried in air with its free outer edge slightly above the track andstreet pavement and this safety device yields and swings on the pivotbolts 5 if it comes in contact with any object. It is preferable to makethese rubber buffer blocks ff of different degrees of softnessfthe upperone being of softer rubber than the lower one which carries most vof theWeight of the safety device and these blocksy of rubber yield with theWeight of a person' 'when desired the blocksf can be pulled out oftheir'sockets and the safety device turned up against the ear. This isadvantageousin storing the cars in a car house.

Toobviate the necessity of removingy the rubber buifer blocks and asshown in Fig. 3 I may place the buffer block sockets on the saine sidesof the brackets c c as seen in Fig. 3 and employ a rod t' extending allacross the back of the safety device to pivot it tothe brackets. IViththis construction the nut K can be loosened and run along the rod t' andthe rod and safety device slid endwise until the auxiliary brackets e care clear of the bu'er blocks and their sockets so that the safetydevicecan be readily turned up against the dash board. I have shown andprefer to employthe rubber buffer blocks but it is obviousthat springsor equivalent yielding devices can be employed.

I claim as my invention- 1.111 a safety device for streetl cars,`the

combination with4 supporting brackets upon the car platform, of a safetyguard having a back bar a. a bar b. connected therewithand extendingdown and across and forming the sides and front, awrubber rim d orcushion upon the outer faces of the bar b. andconnected therewith, and alattice c2. or filling between the bars a. Z2. and pivots for connectingthe safetyguard to the brackets, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a safety device for street cars, of the bracketsc. c connected to the platform, auxiliary brackets c e upon the safetydevice and bolts for pivotally connecting,` the said brackets insupporting the safety device and rubber buffer blocks or equivalentyielding devices connectedto` the brackets c. c. and against whichtheauxiliary brackets bear in yieldingly carrying the safety device in airsubstantially as set forth.

5. The combination with asafety device'for street cars, of the bracketsc c connected to the platform, the auxiliary brackets c ecounected tothe safety device, the bolts for pivotally connecting the said `bracketsin supporting the safety device, there being sockets upon the sides ofthe brackets c. c and rub# ber buffer blocks f f received in suchsockets substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed this 28d day of August, A. D. 1893.

HENRY A. HOI/VE.

Witnesses:

Guo. T. PINCKNEY, HAROLD SERRELL.

